After Transmigrating as a Scumbag Alpha, I Marked the Crazy Hotshot – Chapter 16

Skirt

Bai Xin sat beside her, listening to the sound of Cheng Jiqing speaking to the person on the other end of the phone.

She turned her head slightly to look out the window. The streetlights were bright. It was a strange feeling, like a silk thread with tiny knots had been untangled by someone, bringing psychological relief to a person with OCD.

Although it was just a small knot, irrelevant to the bigger picture.

Although she didn’t actually have OCD.

Bai Xin’s gaze slowly shifted from the scenery outside to the privacy glass window, and then Cheng Jiqing appeared in her line of sight.

Cheng Jiqing had already finished her call.

“Cheng Jing thinks I like Qin Yufu and insists on arranging an engagement for us.” She turned, tilting her head towards Bai Xin, speaking in a very casual, conversational tone.

It even carried a hint of complaint.

Cheng Jiqing thought, with her line delivery skills, Bai Xin would surely hear how reluctant she sounded.

Bai Xin asked her, “You don’t like Qin Yufu?”

Cheng Jiqing denied it, “I don’t.”

Bai Xin turned back too, ending their visual exchange via the glass, but she didn’t speak, only raising those beautiful peach blossom eyes slightly.

The movement of her eyes lifting was slow, inadvertently carrying the suspicion of being flirtatious and seductive, but if you looked closely, you would find thorns hidden everywhere.

Then why did you ruin my marriage with Qin Yufu?

Cheng Jiqing understood this unspoken question from her eyes.

Cheng Jiqing: “…Just consider me young and ignorant, lacking propriety, didn’t know how to act back then. I’ve thought it over. I’ll do my best to compensate you both in the future, or…”

She looked at Bai Xin: “If you two want to remarry, I will also fully support it.”

Bai Xin: “…”

She had married Qin Yufu back then because Qin Yufu promised to help her hide her Omega identity.

Now, she no longer needed that.

What was Cheng Jiqing saying? Fully support her remarrying Qin Yufu?

Then what was Cheng Jiqing doing here with her now? Was it really just out of guilt?

Cheng Jiqing seemed to hear a soft, indistinct scoff, and then Bai Xin turned her head away again.

Cheng Jiqing: “…”

Fine, if you don’t want to, you don’t want to. What are you hmphing at me for?

This topic clearly didn’t need to continue.

Cheng Jiqing suddenly remembered what Zeng Lu had said earlier and had Yu Lan raise the partition between the front and back seats. Some things Yu Lan couldn’t hear.

She lowered her voice again, “Have you investigated Bai Xingxing?”

Bai Xin was concise: “It was her, but there’s no evidence.”

But it didn’t matter. There would eventually be a day to settle scores.

Cheng Jiqing couldn’t see Bai Xin’s face, and thus didn’t know the ruthlessness in those obsidian eyes.

Cheng Jiqing paused silently. She had no memory of how the original owner of her body had drugged Qin Yufu, so she didn’t know how Bai Xingxing found out about it, nor how she gave the drug to Bai Xin.

She had told Bai Xin this point before.

“I will find out clearly.”

Cheng Jiqing said.

Helping Bai Xin, and also helping herself.

Hearing this, Bai Xin lowered her eyes slightly. The voice by her ear was very gentle, and for a moment, she actually forgot what topic Cheng Jiqing had just been discussing with her.

She just saw her own hand resting on Cheng Jiqing’s skirt, unmoving for a long time. Her palm became exceedingly hot.

So she moved it away, then realized it was her own body temperature that was rising.

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The car stopped in Nanyang City District.

Cheng Jiqing got out to see her off, walking with Bai Xin a short distance towards the elevator downstairs.

Reaching the building entrance, Cheng Jiqing stopped. “You go on up. I’ll be leaving then.”

Bai Xin acknowledged with a sound and stepped into the elevator. Just as she entered, she heard Cheng Jiqing call out “Hey,” behind her, making her turn around inside the elevator.

“If you need anything, you can call me…”

Cheng Jiqing hadn’t mentioned the hospital situation the entire trip, but she had heard clearly that this period would be quite difficult for Bai Xin to endure, and it had a lot to do with her.

If a hug, like the one in the parking lot, could make Bai Xin feel even a little better, she was available anytime.

The elevator doors slowly closed. Midway, Bai Xin stared at Cheng Jiqing and slowly parted her lips, “Like, what kind of need?”

As her voice fell, the elevator doors shut completely.

Cheng Jiqing heard it clearly too.

She even thought she saw the look full of hidden meaning on Bai Xin’s face. When those faint dimples appeared, the woman herself transformed into a lily.

Fresh yet bewitching, charming and seductive. Even her gaze seemed cold with ulterior motives.

“…”

For a moment, she couldn’t tell what emotion Bai Xin had when she said that. Or perhaps it was her imagination? She felt that Bai Xin’s counter-question was filled, word by word, with an ambiguous, flirtatious tone.

As expected, villains, besides being fickle…

Were also adept at playing with people’s hearts.

Cheng Jiqing returned to the car. Her WeChat vibrated; it was a message from Cheng Jing.

Cheng Jing: 【Chengcheng, I’ve thought carefully about what you said. I indeed have my faults too.】

Cheng Jing: 【From now on, as long as you live well and stop deliberately opposing me and hurting yourself, I won’t forcibly control you anymore.】

Cheng Jing: 【We’ll discuss the Qin Yufu matter later. I hope you can truly let it go.】

Cheng Jing: 【I also hope you remember what you said today. Okay?】

Cheng Jiqing still remembered Cheng Jing’s arrogant demeanor at the cocktail party. Getting Cheng Jing to bow her head wasn’t a simple matter.

Cheng Jiqing looked up, “Did Cheng Jing ask you where I was?”

It happened to be a red light. Yu Lan replied, “Yes, I said you were out clearing your head and are now preparing to return to Nanjing Apartments.”

Nanjing Apartments was one of the residences the original owner frequented.

Cheng Jiqing nodded, lowered her head, and replied to Cheng Jing: 【Okay.】

At least she didn’t have to worry too much about Cheng Jing’s side for the time being.

After pondering, Cheng Jiqing suddenly remembered something else and returned to the chat interface to find the message received on the way to the hospital earlier.

Zeng Lu: 【Little CEO Cheng, do you still want that thing? If so, let’s arrange a time to meet?】

Apart from Zeng Lu, no one else knew about the inducer anymore.

She still had to meet her, but she couldn’t appear too eager.

Cheng Jiqing replied: 【We’ll talk when I have time.】

She planned to find a day within the next few days.

After sending the message, Cheng Jiqing’s gaze paused slightly. She saw the bag on the adjacent seat—it was the dirty clothes Bai Xin had changed out of earlier, forgotten.

Bai Xin returned home and turned the air conditioning down to the lowest setting.

She was exhausted. Her body had gone through exertion and suppression, feeling sticky all over. All she wanted was to take a shower and rest well.

Her phone suddenly rang.

Seeing the name on the screen, Bai Xin’s placid expression turned cold. She walked barefoot across the cool tiles to the sofa and sat down, putting the call on speakerphone.

“Bai Xin! You were clearly the one who provoked this whole thing, yet you actually let Cheng Jiqing come find trouble with me! Do you know what everyone outside is saying about me now?!”

Bai Xin paused slightly. What did Cheng Jiqing do?

She said faintly, “Are you sure I was the one who provoked this?”

Bai Xingxing hesitated for a moment, then her volume increased, “If not you, then who?! Others might not know, but you think I don’t? Cheng Jiqing personally admitted that you were the one who climbed into her bed. You know damn well what happened between you two AA that night! Just saying such things disgusts me!”

“All I did was post on my Moments without even naming names, I didn’t do anything else, so why should I be blamed? Besides, I wasn’t wrong! The Cheng family felt ashamed and wanted to make an example of the Bai family—ultimately, it’s still because you acted so shameless and stirred up trouble! This could have all been resolved if you just bowed your head, but you insisted on dragging me down with you!”

Bai Xin rested one hand on the sofa, her fair index finger lightly rubbing the soft cushion.

After hearing that sentence, her movement stopped, yet her tone remained calm.

“Are you finished?” Bai Xin said. “You sound quite energetic barking like a real person now, but why didn’t you dare to go to the cocktail party today? Besides making noise at home, what else can you do? Anyone with a shred of dignity wouldn’t dare say such things.”

Bai Xingxing: “You! Bai Xin! You bitch!¹ You’re deliberately trying to harm me! You’re just like your mother who climbed into someone else’s bed…”

“Xingxing, what nonsense are you talking?!”

Bai Xin heard Bai Zhaoliang’s voice and slightly lifted her head, her eyes chillingly cold. Bai Zhaoliang had probably been beside her from the start. If Bai Xingxing hadn’t lost control, he likely would have silently condoned Bai Xingxing’s ‘reminder’ to her.

To put it bluntly, he still suspected her relationship with Cheng Jiqing.

From beginning to end, regardless of the truth, Bai Zhaoliang had never truly believed her.

Bai Xin let out a silent laugh, her entire being as cold as frost.

“Speaking so disrespectfully!² Xiao Xin, don’t stoop to her level.” Bai Zhaoliang must have taken the phone. “I definitely believe there’s nothing between you and Little CEO Cheng. Although she isn’t holding it against you, she’s now taking it out on Xingxing, which is why your sister got so angry.”

Bai Xin: “So what does that have to do with me? Weren’t you present when Cheng Jiqing spoke, Father?”

Before Bai Zhaoliang could speak, Bai Xin continued, “I also listened to you and went over to bow my head. It’s just that she simply didn’t care.”

Bai Zhaoliang choked, “Father didn’t say it had anything to do with you either. Alright, alright, let’s leave it at that. You should rest early too, don’t stay up late…”

“Cheng Jiqing was right about one thing.”

Bai Xin said slowly, “Bai Xingxing really needs to be careful with that mouth of hers.”

Bai Zhaoliang didn’t say anything more, just offered a few more placating words like usual, akin to a rigged weight on a scale.

Bai Xin couldn’t even be bothered to hang up.

It felt as if even being near the phone at this moment disgusted her.

The disconnected phone screen automatically went dark.

Bai Xin sat for a while, then stood up and took a bottle of mineral water from the fridge. She drank a few sips; the penetrating chill dissolved the heat in her palm, leaving only a bone-chilling coldness.

She walked into the bathroom. Inside stood a dark green stool. She placed the black evening gown she had taken off onto it.

At this moment, her phone vibrated several times in succession.

She hadn’t intended to get it, but after a couple of seconds, she walked back out and picked up the phone from the table.

She tapped it open while walking back, turning on the faucet above the bathtub.

The next second, Bai Xin’s movements paused slightly.

Tang Jia: 【You can start considering how to coax Little CEO Cheng into coming for a blood draw every half month… to be your guinea pig³ for refining medicine.】

Tang Jia: 【Your compatibility rate with Cheng Jiqing is 90%.】

The warm water in the bathtub rose like mist in a morning forest. She sat down on the stool. The feel of the fabric against her skin made her suddenly remember Cheng Jiqing’s dress was still on it.

She didn’t immediately move it, just sat on it.

A 90% compatibility rate meant Tang Jia might be able to develop an inhibitor perfectly suited for her from Cheng Jiqing’s blood.

It meant she had hope—hope that in the future, she could be like a normal Omega, no longer so fragile and sensitive, no longer needing numerous inhibitor injections during every heat period, no longer needing to endure so much pain in silence, from dusk till dawn…

As long as Tang Jia could produce the medicine, she would be liberated.

Bai Xin held her phone, her hand unconsciously resting on the stool, touching Cheng Jiqing’s dress underneath.

The gown wrinkled slightly under her five fingers as she gently grasped it, released, then grasped again.

Over and over.

Then Bai Xin saw a text message notification pop up at the top of her screen.

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Cheng Jiqing was still in the car.

Head down, messaging Bai Xin: 【Bai Xingxing still…】

Before she finished typing, Bai Xin replied to her previous message first.

【Don’t need it.】

This was in response to Cheng Jiqing’s earlier message—【You forgot your skirt. Should I send it to the dry cleaners and then give it back to you?】

Cheng Jiqing continued typing: 【Does Bai Xingxing still suspect your identity?】

Bai Xin: 【No.】

Bai Xin: 【What did you do to Bai Xingxing?】

Cheng Jiqing thought for a moment, then asked: 【Convenient to talk on the phone?】

This time, Cheng Jiqing clearly saw the message instantly marked as read.

An image inexplicably formed in her mind: Bai Xin, eyes lowered, staring at her phone screen, waiting for her message, those long curled eyelashes casting dark shadows on her delicate skin…

She saw the reply ‘Okay’ and dialed.

“Hello?”

“Go ahead.”

“Didn’t do much, just posted a message on Moments and in group chats earlier. Said that for future gatherings, if people with foul mouths⁴ who love to spin lies are present, don’t bother inviting me.”

This was different from Cheng Jing targeting the Bai family. After all, Bai Xingxing moved in the circle of second-generation heirs. With her words, Bai Xingxing wouldn’t be welcomed anywhere for the short term.

The AA relationship issue arose a few days ago precisely because of Bai Xingxing’s appearance, initiated to help Bai Xin hide her identity. Now that the effect was achieved and the crisis averted, it was about time to wrap it up.

Otherwise, if Cheng Jing remained displeased and some opportunists who follow the wind⁵ targeted the Bai family, it wouldn’t be good for Bai Xin either.

She heard water sounds from Bai Xin’s end, and it seemed like the person even chuckled slightly. She wasn’t sure.

Bai Xin said, “You know how to curse people out?”

Cheng Jiqing: “Why wouldn’t I?”

When she was younger, before she became famous, if someone sent her private messages cursing her on Weibo, she could cuss them back out without repeating herself. Later, as she got older and gained fame, and had an agent managing her, she gradually changed.

“Did you suddenly think of it?”

Bai Xin asked slowly.

“Been thinking about it for a few days.” Cheng Jiqing leaned back in the comfortable seat, her voice slowing down. “Bai Xingxing started this whole mess. Why should you bear it all alone while she gets off easy?”

Today, it was just Bai Zhaoliang being biased, protecting the younger one and pushing the older one out to take the blame.

Bai Xin was silent for a moment. This feeling was quite complex.

This was probably the only time someone had said, Why should you?

Her family pushed her forward, while her former enemy was protecting her.

Bai Xin stood up. Because she had been sitting for a while, Cheng Jiqing’s gown had developed fine wrinkles. There were also traces of her sweat staining it.

She placed the phone on the stool.

Removing her remaining clothes, she bent down to test the water temperature. When it felt about right, she turned off the faucet.

Perhaps she had paused for a bit too long; Cheng Jiqing’s voice came through the phone.

“Hello? Still there?”

“Mm.”

“What are you doing?”

Inside the car.

The sound of water by Cheng Jiqing’s ear suddenly stopped, but Bai Xin’s voice became clearer.

“Bathing.”

“…”

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The author has something to say:

Cheng 11: Hiyah, Wifey really doesn’t see me as an outsider.

Bai 00: Together?

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